A PLA Conference Recap

Part of my job in publishing is attending book industry conferences, which can be both incredibly exhilarating incredibly and exhausting. This week, the Public Library Association had its biennial conference in Philadelphia, which was easy travel—only a short train ride away. I was particularly excited to attend PLA because the public library is my intended area of work once I finish my MLS degree!

Conferences are great when you work in publishing because A) it's a nice change of pace from sitting at a desk in front of a computer all day [the worst!!!] and B) you get to chat with the people who actually use your product and it's nice to hear what is working and what isn't. Of course, the thing that stinks for me as an exhibitor, at this conference in particular, is that I'm stuck in a booth all day when I want to attend the sessions and book signings and absorb it all.

However, I did randomly run into a former colleague from the library I used to work at during high school—the job that cemented my future in libraries in the first place. And in the exhibits' closing hours, I did manage to rack up a small collection of some solid books, which is always a plus. But just as a helpful hint, booth representatives from certain major trade publishers: just because I'm wearing an "Exhibitor" badge is no reason to be a jerk to me; we're not even competitors, and I STILL LIKE TO READ AND MAY BUY YOUR BOOKS.

My swag includes:

• Rez Life by David Treuer—a recent recommendation from Jill that I happily stumbled upon; and this booth rep was lovely, fyi
• The Lost Saints of Tennessee by Amy Franklin-Willis—because any book with the word Tennessee in the title immediately interests me
• Heft by Liz Moore—someone I know through Tumblr and was happy to stumble upon her book
• Barnheart by Jenna Woginrich—recommended by the Workman rep who was super nice once I showed interest in an awesome book I will buy called Farm Anatomy that is like an illustrated guide to rural living; he told me the author lived in Brooklyn and decided to move and live on a farm, and I do live in Brooklyn and dream of moving to live on a farm